Macroeconomic Environment
Over the last year, the government has launched a series of initiatives to revive the Indian economy, including building infrastructure in roads and railways, improving the ease of business, creating a more investor-friendly FDI policy regime, introducing banking reforms
and targeting inflation.
Consequently, our macroeconomic indicators have started to look better, with GDP growth increasing to 7.6 per cent in fiscal year 2016,
from 7.2 per cent in fiscal year 2015. Inflation is largely under control. The Consumer Price Index is expected to fall within the range of 5-6
per cent and Wholesale Price Index, virtually nil. Our Current Account Deficit is also under control. The implementation of transformative structural reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax,
however, is imperative to fast track economic growth and boost consumer confidence.
FMCG Sector
We are seeing signs of a recovery in consumer demand in the FMCG industry. While the progress has been subdued, we expect demand to pick up pace in fiscal year 2017. Pro-growth initiatives by the government, such as the passing of the Goods and Services Tax Bill, will be greatly beneficial for this. The fundamentals of the industry remain strong and there is still significant growth potential, given the low penetration and consumption rates for many FMCG categories.
Our business has delivered strong and profitable growth, despite the challenges in the environment. Overall, we continue to outperform both the FMCG industry and the home and personal care categories that we participate in. We are driving a relentless focus on our strategy, and investing strategically in creating new growth vectors for the future, while continuing to drive our core to full potential, enhancing our go-tomarket infrastructure and driving execution excellence.